Meditations for Difficult Days [5] The Power of God

The Power of God

Psalm 46:1-5 "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day."

Psalm 46:6 "Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts."

The Weakness of Nations

In AD 410 Rome fell to the "barbarians." The impossible happened. The Christian writer Jerome, wrote, "The city which had taken the whole world was taken."

Some of us are old enough to remeber the fall of the Soviet Union (or USSR) under Mikhail Gorbachev, in 1991. All world empires are destined to fall. Our very own British Empire, once the largest empire in all of history, has now all but gone.

When Rome fell, the famous Christian Augustine was so disturbed and upset by this global catastrophe that he wrote his famous "The City of God" where he talked up the City that will never fall.

(He wrote the book to defend Christianity against the accusation that Rome had fallen because it had turned its back on the Roman gods when it Christianized under Constantine. Augustine pointed out that all the wickedness which still prevailed in Rome was the true cause of her decline.)

The psalmist tells us that kingdoms will fall!

Wherever we live in the world today, whenever we might have lived in history, this fact is universally true: nations will fall.

No earthly kingdom is wise enough, good enough, powerful enough to survive war, famine, pestilence, time and death.

So, let's not place our trust in Boris or Trump - or in the army of government officals, from MPs to local councillors, who serve us so well. Pray for them, but don't  put our trust in them.

The Power of God

By contrast to the weakness of nations is the mighty power of God, "he lifts his voice, the earth melts." God would  merely have to speak and the earth would melt away.  As far as I can discern, there is no Biblical example of the earth melting when God speaks, though Amos says something similar in 9:5, "he touches the earth and it melts." In Psalm 29 hurricane winds are a symbol of God's powerful voice, "The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars" (verse 5), but I can't find an example of the voice of God actually causing earth to melt.  Psalm 29, however, gives us a clue:  all powerful natural phenomena, whether lightning or hurricanes are in fact displays of  the sovereign power of God.

Perhaps the psalmist had volcanoes in his mind, with their rivers of molten earth flowing down the mountainside.

But, being a prophet, I believe the psalmist was also speaking of the final dissolution of all things. The apostle Peter says on three occasions that the world will one day be destroyed by fire,  "That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat." (2 Peter 3:12, see also 3:7 and 3:10, which make it plain that the earth is included in this final conflagration). 

One day God will demonstrate his mighty power and destroy the present heavens and earth with fire, only for the purpose of making them brand new; a new heavens and a new earth.

Nations are weak, but God is strong: that's the meaning of this line from Psalm 46.

Summing it all up

Since nations are weak and God is strong, we should resist trusting nations for the solution of our present crisis: which may involve far more than disease, but may result in economic troubles and even civil unrest. Margaret Thatcher, whatever you think about her policies, once correctly said "The veneer of civilistaion is thin." By this she meant that  people look all civilised up, ordinary day by ordinary day -  until they are in a crisis. Then the gloves come off, the appearance of civility disappears and  they will fight and even kill to survive.

We should pray for our governments, and thereby display our trust in God, rather than man.

The apostle Peter adds another practical response to the fact that the earth will one day melt by God's mighty power:

"Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming." (2 Peter 3:11 and 12).

Knowing that one day the world will burn up should drive us to live holy and godly lives today, always looking forward to the return of Jesus Christ, our loving Saviour, Master and King.

A SONG FOR THE DAY
I am going to sneak into here my present favourite Christian song. Favourites change with the years but ever since I came across this song a few months ago, I have listened to it again and again (and ask my wife, again!) It's an unusual song, and it may take a couple of takes before it grows on you. It breathes the sigh of every believer that this world is broken - before and after and including Coronavirus  - and then breathes the hope of every believer, the hope of Christ's return and his eternal reign.

Do you feel the world is broken? (We do)
Do you feel the shadows deepen? (We do)
But do you know that all the dark won't stop the light from getting through? (We do)
Do you wish that you could see it all made new? (We do)

Is all creation groaning? (It is)
Is a new creation coming? (It is)
Is the glory of the Lord to be the light within our midst? (It is)
Is it good that we remind ourselves of this? (It is)

Is anyone worthy? Is anyone whole?
Is anyone able to break the seal and open the scroll?
The Lion of Judah who conquered the grave
He is David's root and the Lamb who died to ransom the slave

Is He worthy? Is He worthy
Of all blessing and honor and glory?
Is He worthy of this?
He is

Does the Father truly love us? (He does)
Does the Spirit move among us? (He does)
And does Jesus, our Messiah, hold forever those He loves? (He does)
Does our God intend to dwell again with us? (He does)

Is anyone worthy? Is anyone whole?
Is anyone able to break the seal and open the scroll?
The Lion of Judah who conquered the grave
He is David's root and the Lamb who died to ransom the slave

From every people and tribe (People and tribe)
Every nation and tongue (Every nation and tongue)
He has made us a kingdom and priests to God
To reign with the Son

Is He worthy? Is He worthy
Of all blessing and honor and glory?
Is He worthy? Is He worthy?
Is He worthy of this?

He is, He is
Is He worthy? Is He worthy?
He is, He is
He is worthy, He is worthy
He is

Andrew Peterson and Ben Shive

See it sung here with the lyrics:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FEuAr8f6bo

Or here live by the author:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylrpyW4THYw

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our gracious and loving Father in heaven,

What a joy it is to turn to you in the midst of troubles and know that while nations and governements are weak, you are strong. You are so powerful that should you just speak a word, the earth would melt.

We pray for all those who rule over us, that you would give them wisdom in these testing days.

We thank you that soon the Lord Jesus will return in power and glory. We look forward to the new heavens and the new earth, and we pray that you would help us to live holy and godly lives while we peer over the horizon of today's troubles to that glorious day when Jesus returns.

We ask this in Jesus Name

Amen